Our Community
Faculty &
Staff
Our community of devoted educators strives to create an environment of warmth, enthusiasm, and inspiration every day.
Our community of devoted and accomplished educators strives to create an environment of warmth, enthusiasm, and inspiration every day. To find out about current open positions, visit our Careers page.
Early Childhood
Early Childhood
Megumi Caverly
Transitional Kindergarten / Kindergarten — Lead Teacher, Sweet Pea Class
Megumi was born and grew up in Fukushima, Japan. She came to the United States in 1995 to study Anthroposophy and Waldorf education, graduating from Rudolf Steiner College in 1999. Since then, she has taught in both Japan and the U.S. In addition to being our Sweet Pea Nursery / Kindergarten teacher, she is also the mother of a son who graduated from Sanderling & the San Diego Waldorf High School. She loves young children, singing, cooking, and making things, and is a self-described bookworm — in both English and Japanese.
Angelica Rubano
Early Childhood Assistant Teacher / Aftercare Teacher / Parent-Child Class Teacher
Angelica was born in San Diego and was a student in the very first kindergarten class of the Waldorf School of San Diego. Her family then moved to New York where she attended elementary, middle, and high school at the Green Meadow Waldorf School. Angelica is the mother of three boys who attend school at Sanderling. She enjoys singing, crocheting, cooking, being in nature, and watching the unfolding of each developing child.
Grades 1–8
Elementary & Middle Grades
Brianna O'Brien
Grade 1 — Lead Teacher
Brianna O'Brien is an American and Brazilian citizen, born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan and is currently completing her Waldorf teacher certification through the Sydney Rudolf Steiner College. She is also fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese. Bria is passionate about early childhood development and the philosophy behind Waldorf education, and feels especially drawn to Class 1 — a year rich with imagination, rhythm, and foundational experiences that shape a child's lifelong love of learning.
Catherine Arena-Mueller
Grade 2 — Lead Teacher
Catherine holds a Bachelor's degree in Studio Art and a Master's in Education. She graduated from Rudolf Steiner College in Remedial Education and has specialized training in child development with a focus on rhythmical movement and Brain Gym. She has been teaching for 12 years with 11 years of experience in Waldorf education. Catherine believes anthroposophy brings wisdom to the art of teaching and holds that every child has a special gift to share with the world.
Heidi Smith
Grade 3 — Lead Teacher
Heidi was born in New York and grew up in a rural community in Pennsylvania. She earned her BA from the University of Pittsburgh. Both of her sons completed their K–8 education at Sanderling. Over the past eight years, Heidi has been teaching at a Waldorf-inspired school, enriching her skills through various Waldorf Education trainings, including a recent year in the Kairos Healing Arts program. In her downtime, she enjoys pickleball, Iyengar Yoga, hiking with her dog Delilah, and baking.
Evi Androulaki
Grade 4 — Lead Teacher
Evi Androulaki was born and raised in Greece in an environment where music, art, and languages had a prominent role. She holds a BA in Foreign Languages from the Ionian University and an MA in Interpreting from the University of Leeds. After moving to San Diego in 2006, she discovered Waldorf education and completed her teacher training at the Waldorf Institute of Southern California. Evi aspires to be a teacher who nurtures, inspires, and motivates children — always leading with humanity, responsibility, and compassion.
Clare Knauss
Grade 5 — Lead Teacher
Clare Knauss is one of the most experienced and talented Waldorf teachers in the country. Clare grew up in England close to the North York Moors and completed her credentials at the Free University in Stuttgart. Since 1979, Clare has taught in England, South Africa, Germany, and the United States. She took two classes through Grade 1 to Grade 8 at the Waldorf School of Orange County, mentored teachers, taught master classes, and completed a graduate degree, before returning to the classroom at Sanderling.
Jodi Abelow
Grades 6 & 7 — Lead Teacher
Jodi was born and raised in Nebraska in an active, athletic family. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Planning at the University of Vermont before discovering Waldorf education while teaching Environmental Education in the Santa Cruz mountains. She began her teacher training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training and joined our faculty in 2007. Jodi enjoys traveling, swimming, cycling, and running, and is often training for triathlons.
Susanne Hoover
Grade 8 — Lead Teacher
Susanne Hoover grew up near Frankfurt, Germany and holds a Ph.D. from UCSD in Immunology. She has taught German in San Diego for over 25 years and raised her two children bilingually. Susanne started as a German teacher at Sanderling and, after a few years, became a class teacher, earning her Waldorf certification with Gradalis in Denver, CO. As a violinist, she is especially appreciative of the Waldorf curriculum's weaving of art and music into everything.
Arts, Languages & Movement
Specialty Subjects
Amy Schick
Eurythmy
In 1996, Amy was the founding teacher of the Hummingbird Parent-Child class which later grew into Sanderling Waldorf School. Amy completed her Foundation Year at Rudolf Steiner College, followed by a four-year training in Eurythmy at Spring Valley, NY, and her pedagogical Eurythmy Training at Emerson College in England. She has been teaching Eurythmy at Sanderling since 1999.
Annette Andranian
German
Annette (or "Frau Andranian", as she's known to students) is a native of Berlin, Germany, who graduated from the Free University in Berlin with a major in Elementary Education and teaching English as a Foreign Language. She has lived in Encinitas for ten years and is thrilled to be teaching at Sanderling, especially since the Waldorf environment reminds her so much of her own school experience as a child.
Mashobane Moruthane
Movement & Games Teacher / Middle Grades Athletic Coordinator
Mashobane brings our Sanderling community a wealth of knowledge, passion, and over 22 years of Waldorf teaching experience. He is specially trained in Spatial Dynamics, one of the keystones of the Movement Education programs for Waldorf Schools, and is also an accomplished Waldorf teacher-trainer of Spatial Dynamics.
Lara Heck
Strings & Orchestra
Lara Heck is a violinist and devoted strings educator who has taught violin, viola, and cello for over fifteen years. She directs the Encinitas Educational Foundation's Band & Strings Program and maintains a thriving private studio in Oceanside. Rooted in the Suzuki philosophy that "every child can," Lara believes that music is both an art form and a pathway to personal growth.
Priscilla Dulin
Handwork
Priscilla was raised in San Diego where her childhood days were filled with reading, creating, and exploring the natural surroundings. After earning a B.A. in Literature and Writing Studies, she worked for Poway Unified School District. She is a student in the teacher training program at the Waldorf Institute of Southern California and enjoys creating all types of handwork, especially knitting and doll-making.
Michael Knauss
Woodwork
[email protected]Michael was born in Füssen, Germany, and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. His first encounter with Waldorf education was in 1975 when he worked and taught at the Camphill School Hermanus. Since then, he has taught various classes in England, Germany, and the United States, completing two full cycles as a class teacher and teaching woodwork in middle and high school for 12 years.
Leadership & Operations
Administration
Ben Gaskin
Director of Administration
[email protected]Ben Gaskin has been in service of Waldorf education for over 20 years as a class teacher and in administration. He taught at the Waldorf School on Kauai and later joined the staff at the Siskiyou School in Ashland, Oregon, taking a class through grades 1–8. Ben moved to Vista, California in the fall of 2022 and made a connection with Sanderling. His leadership skills, experience, and passion for Waldorf education are a valued asset.
Jazmin Hayes Miller
Business Operations Manager
[email protected]Jazmin is a military wife and mother to three sons. She has a degree in International Affairs and Mathematics from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, where she was also a Division I basketball player. Her lifelong passion for learning and children brought her to Sanderling.
Julie J. Joinson
Head of Admissions
[email protected]Julie hails from Liverpool, England and has lived in San Diego since 1999. She served as Admissions Director at the Waldorf School of San Diego for 15 years, helping to grow enrollment from 125 to over 300 students. After several years in interior design and renovation, she returns with a renewed perspective and purpose. Julie loves building genuine long-term relationships with children and their families.
Melissa Duncanson
Office Manager & Marketing Coordinator
[email protected]Melissa is a native Californian who earned her BA in Art from CSU, Chico. She worked as an arts educator at the San Jose Museum of Art and The New Children's Museum in San Diego before transitioning to outreach and development roles at Center for the Arts, Escondido, and Oceanside Museum of Art.
Julia McMaster
Registrar & Aftercare Coordinator
[email protected]Julia earned her B.A. in Human Development with a minor in Psychology from Washington State University. After returning to California, she began working at Operation Safehouse, an emergency shelter for youth in crisis. She found Sanderling through her older sister and quickly learned how her degree in human development connected with the Waldorf philosophy.
Visit Us
Meet Our Faculty in Person
Schedule a campus tour and meet the teachers who will guide your child's journey.